I have an old verticle ban saw that my grandfather left me. It's from sears and is pretty heavy duty. Can I set it up to cut metal plate? If so what is the best type of blade to use? Are they just general metal blades like on a sawzall? I'm not sure of the size because it's at my brothers. I'd like to use it to cut pretty precise angles on some tabs I need to make.
It will have to run a lot slower to cut metal than wood. And the guides and all will have to be very good and adjusted correct to cut pricise cuts. Google Band Saw Blades and you will see all kinds of info on different blades and their purposes.
Slower is good, also don't use the incorrect blade. I ruined an expensive brand new blade by stripping the teeth off it trying to rip off a piece of 22 ga sheet metal with a 14 tpi blade, should have used a 24 tpi blade for thin stuff. I learned my lesson.
I converted my "wood" bandsaw to cut metal. ( SEE HOW HERE) Actually I've been using it for aluminum, but it would cut steel. Get a good bi-metal blade. Call Enco (1-800-use-enco) or go to their web site ( use-enco.com). They have good prices and great help so tell them what you are trying to do and they can help. The main thing like the other posts said is you have to get the speed down or it isn't going to work. Also they told me that you want to try and have at least 3 teeth in the work. I have one blade with very few teeth per inch for thicker aluminum and another with a lot more teeth per inch for thin stuff. Mine works, but is slow, but better than a hacksaw and it is the only thing I can use on aluminum I want to machine. I use the chop saw or torch on all the steel stuff. c ya, Sum
I have seen wood cutting band saws converted to metal cutting by using an old manual car transmission for a gear reduction unit to slow the blade down. I have a reciprocating hacksaw that I built 30 years ago, and for a really great gear reduction I used a starter pinion gear meshing with a flywheel ring gear. That gives an approximate 15:1 reduction, and as the teeth are hardened, it lasts forever----Brian
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